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In this excerpt from a wide-ranging talk, Nyogen Roshi emphasizes the importance of continuous practice for the practitioner who aspires to true liberation from suffering. He also cautions us not to see the imperative of “home-leaving” as necessarily involving “shaving our heads and putting on a funny costume.” True home-leaving, he tells us, means freeing ourselves from the “nest” of delusional beliefs, opinions and preferences…

An old friend passed away this morning. I wasn’t aware he had suffered a stroke two weeks earlier, so I was shocked to hear that he was gone. A silent pause seems to follow news like this, then my mind fills with questions…

Ego’s job is to make things seem solid and safe, but ego’s sense is always delusional. When we see that whatever ground we hold onto in our delusional mind keeps us separate, then we can enter into this world of oneness. The world of oneness exists here now. It cannot be reached conceptually…

When we receive the precepts we are not given something that exists outside ourselves. To truly receive the precepts is to realize your true nature, revealing your life as the very body, form, and functioning of the enlightened state. — Maezumi Roshi